"Organizationally, that was very interesting. I would suggest the rest of my career I’ll never have a Friday night game, a bye then a Thursday night game. So, we had worked on this as a staff, really last May and fine tuned it in August and again a few weeks ago. We kind of feel like we’re in place pretty good. We always back things up a day, so this coming Friday would be like a Sunday practice for us. We’re kind of working everything through that. We’ll lock in on that Friday and also our players will get in a couple workouts this week, some conditioning and meeting time. But I also want them to get some rest. I think that’s very healthy. We’re really consistent in how we handle any bye week in the past. We’ll parallel that and get our guys on a schedule that fits their normal preparation."

? On MU's struggling running game:

"Yeah, it is a little bit. In this offense, there’s a lot of different ways to look at it. When we had Chase Daniel, if" defenses "would overload it on the run, we just wouldn’t run it. We’d throw it 15 times in a row until they backed out. We want to run a little bit more, so there’s a conflict there, from a strategy standpoint. We’re kind of looking at that a little bit. You know, spread offenses are designed to open up running lanes, but then how much you want to throw” with “your quarterback, your young quarterback, all those issues, those dynamics, we’re dealing with. But, we’re going to work to try and make it better. But I would agree we’re not running the ball as well as I would have liked."

? On Blaine Gabbert's role in audibles and the running game:

"Most of those things we can do through our no-huddling and signaling. He does have a few options. That’s all part of how we organize and how we handle our play-calling. I think we ask, certainly, less of Blaine right now, as we did when Chase Daniel was a sophomore. But, still, I really don’t think that has any effect on our running game. We’ve got to run the ball better. Period.

"But there’s also in the spread offense where you count people. You make a choice, you can still run it or you can sit there and say, 'We’re keep throwing it and throwing it,’ as we developed with Chase Daniel. If the alignment was such that it favored the pass, we’d throw it 15 times in a row. Will we get to that point with Blaine? Possibly. We’ll have to look at that. Regardless of that and all those dynamics, we have to be able to run the ball better."

? On the time of possession statistic:

"In a spread offense, and no-huddle and up-tempo, we really don’t look at that. I look at it a little bit in the fourth quarter if you’ve got a big lead. What you do with that lead in the fourth quarter, how you might adjust your offense, that’s the one time I might look at it. My whole theory on the spread offense, if you’re going to be up-tempo, if you’re going to be no-huddle, if you’re going to vertically attack the field as such, you better score points. Because if you’re three-and-out, three-and-out, three-and-out, your defense is going to be on the field a long time. … Then again, that’s the way we are. I used to be really big on time of possession, but that was a different type of offense. But that isn’t our offense anymore. So, we’re not concerned with it at all. But what goes hand in hand with that is you’ve got to score points."

? On Gabbert's progress being on schedule:

"I think he’s done a good job. There really wasn’t a schedule. You just see how a quarterback’s playing. We kind of watch what we’re doing with him. He’s made some plays, and I’ve been very pleased with his — we knew he had great ability — but I’ve been very pleased with his poise and his competitiveness and how he handles adversity as he grows and matures. He can do a lot of the little things better, but overall, I’m pleased with his progress."

? On Gabbert learning from the Bowling Green comeback:

"I don’t think there’s any question, for any quarterback there’s value in it. You don’t want to go through it. You’d rather have everything work out nice. But that’s not the reality of this sport, and certainly not at that position. He’s going to have a lot more adversity this year and for the years to come. I don’t think there’s any question he found out a little about himself. That’s part of the maturation process. There’ll be a lot of other things quarterbacks go through. And whether you pass the test or not, you learn from it. You apply it and hope you become better."

? On early impressions on Nebraska and the MU-NU rivalry:

"Well, first of all, I think they’re a really good football team. You look at how they finished a year ago. They’ve obviously reestablished the great tradition they’ve had over many, many, many, many years. Very impressed with them on both sides of the ball. Very disciplined. I think even the Virginia Tech, it came down to one kind of fluke play or they should of won that. So, I think they’re doing outstanding.

"As far as the rivalry, we’ve always had great respect for Nebraska. I can’t speak for Nebraska, but we always … they’ve traditionally been one of the best programs in the nation and certainly the Big 12. And, so, that carries a lot of weight for anybody in our division and this league and certainly for us. And that’s because we respect what they’ve accomplished."